FSC to step up efforts in KSA

Fujitsu Siemens Computers (FSC) is preparing to set up an in-country team in Riyadh to bolster its coverage of the Saudi market. The PC and notebook vendor currently has one member of staff overseeing its Saudi aspirations, but plans to take that up to five by the beginning of October.

Fujitsu Siemens Computers (FSC) is preparing to set up an in-country team in Riyadh to bolster its coverage of the Saudi market. The PC and notebook vendor currently has one member of staff overseeing its Saudi aspirations, but plans to take that up to five by the beginning of October. Although it won’t detail how many PC units it currently ships into the country, the vendor is adamant that KSA remains a market of untapped potential, particularly at reseller level. “The [Saudi] market offers a lot of opportunities which we are not 100% fulfilling. There are growth opportunities in oil and gas, healthcare and a lot of other customer groups,” says Sascha Haake, director SME and channel Middle East at FSC. FSC already has distribution coverage in the country through agreements with Aptec Saudi Arabia, Tech Data and Aim, but believes additional resources are required to serve the market more extensively. “We are looking at developing the corporate reseller side and having functional people in areas like pre-sales – something that was totally missing in the past,” admits Haake. He adds that efforts will be made to locate new accounts that can then be fed back to the distribution partners. FSC currently serves the Middle East region from a 30-strong office in Dubai, while individual sales managers are also based in countries such as Egypt and Lebanon. But the company is optimistic that expansion in KSA will set the tone for a wider geographical push and dilute its dependence on the UAE market. “We want to grow and really develop the different regions," adds Haake. “In eight or 10 months, if everything is running well, we could share the same approach for our channel in Egypt, for example. That is also a huge market which needs to be developed.”